May 1979

6' 3" John Pelico was Playgirl's Man of the Month for May 1979.  According to the story that went with his photo spread, John seemed to be something of an outdoors man loner who lived up in the mountains.  He used his Jeep "to travel into town occasionally to pick up supplies..." that he traded in exchange for his artwork and pottery.  Then the story goes further to explain that John tries to live off the land as much as possible, and chops his own wood, eats wild berries, birds and rabbits.  Guessing by the tan line visible, it looks like perhaps John sported a bikini style shorts or swimwear as well.

Beer Buddies (part two)

Back in 1968, one can't help but imagine that these athletes had no idea they would continue to be admired decades later by a much larger audience than originally intended.  In Beer Buddies, Larry arrives at the tavern to discover thirsty Billy who's casually standing naked at the bar, taking advantage of the establishment's offer for beer for nudity.  Larry also undresses and displays a very impressive physique and--could that be a semi-aroused manhood jutting out in front of him?  By the loving attention that his growing penis gets from the camera, it obviously also caught the admiration and attention of the photographer.  

'Beer Buddies' by Kris Studio

One of the nice things about classic loops was that they were pretty darn basic in terms of their objective: erotica. It's worth noting that this was an era where actual film was run through a projector machine, so smut loops usually got to their intended point rather quickly, with running times ranging from eight to fifteen minutes each.  Kris Studios gave the world 1968's Beer Buddies, a nifty physique short (aka 'loop') that starred two handsome gentlemen, Billy Kidd and Larry Harper.  That would be Mr. Harper above.

 

In this often-overlooked little screen gem, it seems that a local watering hole has decided to drum up some extra business by offering an unusual promotion: "Beer only 50 cents for NUDE customers.  Take off your clothes and save money!"  Now, anybody who knows much about men also knows that beer is always a tantalizing treat to offer, no matter what era we're talking about, and cheap brewskies for simply showing some bushy dick and beefy ass would sound like a heck of a deal to lots of hard-working hunks.  It's a simple storyline that's fun and moves the action along.

But before we get too-involved with Beer Buddies, let's first spend a little time paying homage to the studio that created this gem.  Kris Studios was known for offering (often straight) body builders posing nude.  Chuck Renslow and his partner Dom Orejudos (Etienne) operated the Kris Studios out of Chicago. It's been reported that Dom would usually write the scripts and be the director while Chuck would be the photographer. The studio was well known for its photographs of strapping young men with muscular physiques, and the emphasis was typically on admiring their raw masculine beauty and manhood. Their loops were all about the man, and by today's hardcore standards in smut, seem downright tame.  There was usually no sound and no sex...just beautiful men posing for the camera.  In addition to Beer Buddies, they also created titles such as The Blue Rose, Cabin in the Woods, The Fugitive, The Hired Hand, The Love Song (which also featured Billy Kidd), Motorcycle Hero, Rent-a-man, and Slave of the Sheik.

But there was a whole lot more going on at this busy studio than just movies.  The advertisement above was for the Kris Studios' very popular photographic division.  An ad such as this one would typically have been mailed to customers who had already corresponded with the studios.  Notice the crease lines where the paper had been folded to fit into a discreet envelope.  Often these very risque mailings happened only after a customer would first find a generic ad in the back of a health or fitness or mechanics magazine and send in to request a catalog or brochure.  In this particular promo, they are offering full-nude art poses.  Their models are all beauties and include Roger Jalle, Paul Sutton, Nick Vanden, Ray Jameson, and the fantastic Nick Harris.  Themed photographic 'novelty' sets should not surprise fans of Etienne (Dom), who developed an entire additional career depicting rough and dangerous military men wearing uniforms from lots of countries.  It's reported that in the early 1970s, Chuck and Dom turned over their mail-order operation to Lou Thomas, who along with Jim French started Colt Studios. 

Roger Jalle from the Kris Studio collection.

Today, the beefcake/leather works of Kris Studios are recognized around the world as an important part of gay media history.  Some of the more rare brouchures from the 1960's are highly prized collectibles.  They honored at an archives and museum in Chicago.

 COMING NEXT: BEER BUDDIES!

Archie's Gay Pal Kevin Gets Married

Kevin Keller is a fictional character in the classic Archie Comics series. Archie comics are reported to have begun in December 22, 1941 and were drawn by Bob Montana and written by Vic Bloom.  It was a long time between then and September 2010, when  Kevin premiered in the Veronica #202 issue and became the first openly gay character in Archie Comics history. Kevin Keller's first appearance was so popular that the issue sold out, prompting Archie Comics to issue a reprint for the first time in its very long (70 years!) history.

"Isn't It Bromantic?" became an instant hit with audiences, as Veronica expresses her female interest in dating the hunky Kevin--but he's just not into all of that. As Kevin and Jughead bond as buddies, Kevin explains to him that he does not want to date Veronica because he is gay.

Archie Comics co-CEO Jon Goldwater explained that "Archie's hometown of Riverdale has always been a safe world for everyone. It just makes sense to have an openly gay character in Archie comic books."

Keller returned in Veronica #205 and then starred in his own 4-issue miniseries, Kevin Keller (beginning in June 2011). The new series focused on Keller's life and growing up, including his struggles in junior high school.  The character has dealt with homophobia and bullies as well as acceptance.

The January issue's cover illustration shows Kevin Keller, Riverdale's first openly gay character who is also an active U.S. military officer, tying the knot with his African-American partner, Clay Walker. The introduction of the fictional character, in addition to his marriage, has drawn both strong praise and harsh criticism.Archie Comics announced that Keller would star in his own ongoing solo title, also titled Kevin Keller, which debuted in February, 2012.

May 1981

Joseph Spondike had that ruggedly handsome look of a real outdoors man.  According to the magazine, he was a 21 year-old native of Florida who loved both the sun and sea.  His sun-kissed hair, thick moustache, and that dark forest of curly blonde cock pubic  hair probably contributed in making Joseph a Playgirl's "Man of the 80's" star model.  Joseph was chosen by readers of Playgirl for the honor by a seven-to-one margin. 

Gay May Day!

This 1971 Gay Mayday poster (below) was based on 19th century illustrations of European May Day celebrations.  Only these Washington D.C. May Day series of events were meant to be about protest and unity among gay men and lesbians against the establishment (the unity didn't work out so well) than about springtime flowers and falling in love. 

The labels written on the "Gay Maypole" ribbons connect the era's gay liberation protests to the spring holiday celebration.  Also, across the top of the poster it proclaims Why Don't We Do It In the Road, which was the title of a Beatles' song from the White Album (1968).

Name the Stud

VGMH follower Virgo sent me an email asking if anyone knew the name of this verile vintage stud.  My guess is that he's perfect Colt material based upon his physique, but I don't know his name.  If you know who this hairy hunk is, please comment below.

Vintage Big Easy

The cover of this retro magazine lets us know the storyline right away: "Horny New Orleans band leader Steve has a big problem: how to keep his members happy!"  Featuring Steve Kaye, Steve Karo, Max Revson and Bobby Conn, it looks like these guys really know how to play their instruments, and those of their band members.  Based on the performers and some film productions crediting their names, this magazine was probably circa early-to-mid 1980s.  A blonde Steve Kaye is credited with also appearing  in 1984's Split Image and Steve Karo  in 1983's Friends are Best.  Steven Kaye also performed with sexy (and very hairy) David Dodge in a 1983 edition of Playguy. 

 Things can get a bit confusing sometimes because there's been more than a couple of performers who've used the name Steve Kaye, or some variant of it, over the years. 

April 1958

Just a year after Steve Reeves posed on their April cover, it was Vincent Taffaro's turn to be the Vim magazine cover man in 1958.  In addition to Vim's sexy cover photo of Vincent, today us viewers can also thank Lon of New York for getting Vince to pose in all of his natural masculine beauty.
 

It's widely reported that Vim was one of the classic fitness magazines not totally happy with the explosion of men's physique publications (such as the very popular Grecian Guild) where emphasis was on the beauty of the male.  Publications like Vim began expressing their concerns in editorials.  An excellent account of this was written in David K. Johnson's Physique Pioneers: The Politics of 1960s Gay Consumer Culture.

April 1947: Fit and Frisky!

 The 1947 April issue of Popular Mechanics included on page 84 this advertisement (below) in the top left corner of the page, selling "Inspiring Photographs for your Training Course!!"  Such "coded" advertising was a reality of life in the 1940's when gay men had few mainstream media options to sexually identify with.  The photographer for this ad was Al Urban, who also invites readers to (printed within the ad itself), whenever in Chicago, phone Kildare 3402 for an appointment to view his work directly at his studio. 

Al was a pioneering photographer in the fields of male physique and nudes.  It's important to keep in mind that male nudes were risky  business in the 1940's and could easily land guys (posing, behind the camera, and/or viewing the images) in jail.  His first studio was in New York and it became one of the earliest and most successful producers of such photography. "Strapped" images by Mr. Urban were published in physique magazines and also sold through mail-order systems (via ads such as this one in Popular Mechanics) during the 1940's and 1950's. 

If only the real-life men interested in this guy-girdle (below) looked as sexy as the figure drawn in the ad!

Below: Examples of male nude photography (not the stuff found in the Popular Mechanics ad) by Al Urban.  Thanks to JD for sharing a part of his personal collection!